For the second straight year, the Cougars will take on the Arizona Wildcats in the opening round of the Pac-10 Tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

The Cougars (8-21, 3-15) come into the game as the ninth seed, while the Wildcats (13-16, 6-12) are the eighth seed.

The Wildcats won last year’s opening round meeting, 79-72.

This year, the Cougars lost both games by 7 points. WSU lost at home 67-60 and 73-66 on the road.

“It went right down to the wire against the Wildcats this year,” Head Coach June Daugherty said. “We need to be sound fundamentally and not turn the ball over on their pressure. We need to have good transition defense and be great on the boards to win.” Sophomore guard April Cook lead the team in scoring both games.

“We need to stop their main players, Ify Ibekwe and Davellyn Whyte,” Cook said. “If we can stop their two main scorers and keep them contained, we will have an easier time.” The Cougars have a tough road to the championship. If the Cougars beat Arizona, they will play the top seed in the Pac-10 Tournament and the No. 2 in the nation, the Stanford Cardinal.

Despite going 3-15 in the Pac-10, the Cougars held second half leads in eight of the team’s 15 losses.

“We have showed steady improvement all year,” Daugherty said. “If our defense is on its A game and we are playing well, we can make a deep run.” Freshmen guard KiKi Moore and center Carly Noyes earned recognition on All-Pac-10 Conference Teams. The two women were the only freshmen named to the all-defensive team. Moore was also named to the all-freshman team.

“Defense is a big part of my game,” Moore said. “Getting steals pumps me up, and it makes me more intense on offense.” Moore averages 3.3 steals per game, which is the most in the Pac-10 and 10th in the nation. Noyes currently leads the Pac-10 in blocks, averaging 1.9 per game.

The game can be heard live on KQQQ 1150 AM or at wsucougars.com.